The Long-Lost Son
by Riley.Quinn5
Summary: Oliver Queen is missing. They may finally have a lead as to where to find him. But he is hurt. Will everyone else be put in danger as well?
1. Chapter 1

_September 19, 2012_

He was running. His legs were starting to feel numb, and that was when he realized that he was starting to stumble. He looked down and realized that the small bullet wound in his abdomen that he had classified as a graze just a minute ago had now soaked his entire shirt through with blood. As he felt himself fall to the ground, he looked up at his attacker, and nearly laughed as he saw the hallucination his mind was creating for him just before his world went black. It was the face of Slade Wilson.

**Thea's POV**

When Thea Queen left school on Friday, September 20, she had expected to go straight to the club and drink herself into oblivion and further just so she couldn't feel the pain she was feeling right now. She hadn't expected to arrive home, early, and hear her mother crying in the living room with Detective Lance wrapping his arm around her. At first, she thought the worst. And that was either her mom was cheating on Walter with the one person who hated the Queens more than anyone in the city. Or it was about him. Her brother. Oliver Queen. The face that haunted her dreams. She immediately thought that he was dead. It was official. She didn't have to stay up day and night anymore wondering whether he was going to burst through the front door with that ridiculous smile he always used to wear. It was over. Just as she fell to her knees, she felt strong arms wrap around her and guide her to the couch next to her mother, who seemed to be speaking, but it was as if someone had muted everything but the incessant pounding in her ears that didn't want to go away. She tried to push through, to hear the words, but she couldn't. All she wanted to do was curl into a ball, go to sleep, and never wake up. Maybe she could take a little something. It would help. Maybe it would feel good. She wondered about what her brother felt when he let go. If he was in pain. If he suffered. She felt the sudden need to know everything that happened. Did he go peacefully? Then she shot through that thin layer of ice she seemed to be stuck under and she let herself hear the words that her mother was speaking.

"—I'm sorry, Thea," I really am, said a male voice.

_Oh, Detective Lance._

"If any more evidence comes up, I will inform all of you immediately," Quentin explained, just before leaving to give the family some much-needed space.

"Thea, come here, sweetie," her mother gestured to her with open arms, but she just couldn't make herself go to her. She needed to know.

"How?" Thea whispered, barely audible, but still heard.

"How what, Thea?" Walter asked quietly.

Thea looked at him as if he had just spoken a different language.

"How did he die! What happened to him! I need to know!" Thea burst out, and before she knew it, she was sobbing, letting out every emotion she had felt these past five years within the span of 5 minutes. Then she heard them. The words she had been waiting to hear since she found out he was missing. Except the wrong way.

"He isn't dead, Thea, but he is missing," Moira softly explained.

"Then what's the big deal, he's been missing for five years, what is so shocking?" Thea managed to say between sobs.

"Thea, look at me," Moira said, gently turning her chin towards her.

"Yesterday, there was a report filed in Russia. A man went missing from a local hospital, he had been severely beaten, so they reported it, and the name they supplied to the police was Oliver. They said his name was Oliver Queen," said Moira, slowly, gauging Thea's reaction. She saw confusion, frustration, and sadness all flick across her eyes before there was a glint of hope reflected on them before it was replaced with anger.

"Oliver's alive?" Thea squeaked, not believing it. Suddenly she was up from the couch, and running up the stairs, not allowing herself a bit of happiness, or even hope. She had a strong feeling in her gut, that something wasn't right. Someone had her brother, and if he was hurting, she was going to hurt right alongside him. Even if he was in a different country. When she reached her room, she threw pajamas on and got under the covers and decided that she wasn't going to move until her brother came home. If he wasn't allowed to come home and live his life, she wouldn't live hers either.

**Moira's POV**

When Moira Queen heard the doorbell ring, the last thing she expected was to open the door and see Quentin Lance standing there. Well, that's not entirely true, because he made visits to the house every other week due to Thea's recently acquired drinking habit. But he usually showed up with his partner. And this time he was alone. And in her mind, that could only mean one thing. No, I can't think like that. He's okay, he has to be, she thought to herself, when she realized she had been standing at the door staring for over a minute now.

"Please, come in, Detective," she greeted, motioning for him to come inside.

"Thank you," he answered, trying his best to stall the information he was here to deliver.

"So, what do you need, Detective, I'm pretty sure Thea was in school today, if that's what this is about," Moira began, looking for answers, but when he met her eyes, she was met with such forceful emotions that she actually took a step back. She refused to believe it. He was gone. Her baby was never coming back. She always held out hope, for both her husband and son to return to her. Now it was official, they were gone. She suggested that they sit down, because she was positive that her legs would give out the second she heard the words. As they sat on the couch, she fiddled with her hands, trying to stop them from shaking so violently.

"He's alive, Moira," Quentin said, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. At that, Moira's head shot up.

"What?" she whispered.

"From what we can gather, he is alive. A police report was filed yesterday in Russia and it caught the attention of our system. Some masked men stormed into a hospital with guns and shot their way through the hospital to get to a patient. The nurses said that the name of the patient was Oliver Queen. She also said that he was in the intensive care unit, because he came in severely beaten, malnourished, and dehydrated, and in critical condition. They didn't suspect anything, because he had a visitor, by the name of Anatoly Knyazev, who was a respected member of the community," he finished, seemingly confused. Moira didn't hear the end of Quentin's explanation, however, because she had blanked out and tears were wetting her cheeks, and the only thing she could focus on was Lance's words. He was in the intensive care unit, severely beaten, malnourished, dehydrated. He had a visitor. It wasn't me. I let my baby suffer alone. And at that one thought, she had burst out into sobs, and let herself openly cry in front of the detective, something that she would never have believed would happen if you told her an hour ago. As Lance put an arm around her shoulders, she vowed that if there was even a chance that her son was still alive, that she would take it. She promised to herself that she would never give up until they found him, however that was. Then she saw Walter slowly guiding Thea to the couch and realized the time and figured that Thea must have heard the entire conversation. When Thea asked how her brother died, however, she really lost it. Thea was still mourning, and her explanation of it all didn't do much to ease her concern, and then she was gone. Running to her room, to escape from the situation again. And she didn't blame her. She needed Oliver. They both did.

**Walter's POV**

The minute Walter Steele stepped into the parking lot of Queen Consolidated for the day, he knew something was going to go wrong. And he was right. When he got home, he saw Thea fall to her knees, and when he went to investigate, he saw his wife crying and the detective comforting her. As he guided Thea towards the couch, he asked Lance what was happening. As he explained, Moira was whispering soft, comforting words to Thea that she most likely wasn't comprehending. Oliver was alive. He thanked the detective and led him to the door. By the time he got back to Moira and Thea, he heard Thea ask how.

"How what, Thea?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"How did he die! What happened to him! I need to know," she sobbed, and that was when I realized that she was so focused on losing her brother that she had blocked out the possibility that he was alive, and okay.

After it was explained, Thea escaped to her room and I didn't expect to see her again for days. I put my arm around Moira and let her cry until she was fast asleep, and when I finally got her into bed, I heard her say a name that she hadn't in a long time. Oliver's. She whispered his name into my chest, and just kept it up, as if it was all she had left of him. And it was.

**Lance's POV**

When Quentin Lance saw the report on the computer screen, he didn't want to believe it. Oliver Queen? But he's dead. It can't be true. As I felt Hilton put an arm on my shoulder and say he'll tell Moira, something fell over him. An emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. Sadness. He blocked it out by drinking and working, but it was time. He had to do this. He lost a child. He knows what it feels like. And if there was even a chance that Sara… He stopped his partner at the door, saying that he would take care of it. But when Moira opened the door, he was about to turn away, when she politely told him to come in. Then it all crumbled. Everything. As he watched the tears run down her face, and the pure anguished sobs coming from her mouth, he couldn't stop himself. He gently wrapped an arm around her, and held on until her husband came to take over. And he was glad. He was suffocating. He needed to get out of there. With the quickest explanation possible, he raced out the door, needing to get away. As he sat in his car, he pounded on the steering wheel and screamed. He yelled, he cursed, but when the tears finally came, all he felt was guilt. Guilty that he couldn't protect his daughter, guilty that he finally let himself feel again. And as he cried, he only had one thought. I have to tell Laurel.

**Laurel's POV**

When my father knocked on the door, the last thing I expected him to say was that Oliver was alive. I nearly slammed the door in his face. The door isn't even completely open, and he blurts out that the love of my life, the man who took my sister from me, is still alive. That he's officially missing. There are real, actual witnesses. When I take a second to really look at him, I see the dried tear tracks, the deep red circles under his eyes, and how he's shaking so hard he looks like he's about to explode. I let him inside, asking if he wants anything. He says no. I ask him what happened, and he starts sobbing all over again. I wrap him in my arms and calmly tell him to explain. He tells me everything. How they took him. What shape he was in. That he wasn't expected to make it through the night. That there had been signs of continuous abuse. That was when she let the tears fall. But she couldn't feel anything. She wouldn't let herself. Her sister is dead, and because of him. She let herself cry into her father's arms for what felt like hours, when a distraught Tommy Merlyn showed up on her doorstep, barely making any sense. She let him inside and that's when she comprehended his words.

"Oliver. Oh god what did they do to him. I think he's dead," was all Tommy managed to get out before Laurel shushed him and told him to start from the beginning, her father also listening intently. And he did. Then he showed her the picture. The picture that broke straight through her whole façade, and suddenly she felt again. And the first thing she felt was immense heartbreak.

**Tommy's POV**

I was in bed. It was noon, and the first thing I saw was my phone buzzing. As I picked it up, I nearly threw up. I thought it was scam. I thought it was some kind of sick joke, that someone was messing with him. Then they sent him coordinates. The last text, however, sent him running for the hills. Which, actually meant Laurel's apartment. It said 'come, or he dies.' As he knocked on the door, he contemplated going back, not bothering her. This was wrong, and he knew it. She didn't deserve for all of this to get dragged back up again. It wasn't fair. But if this text was real, he couldn't pass it off as junk mail. He needed to follow this, and that meant Detective Lance. But he had promised to kill him if he stepped into the precinct again. So that fell onto Laurel. But he also hadn't anticipated her father to be there. As she calmed him down and told him to explain. And he hesitated. But one glance at the detective, and he blurted it all out, along with the messages. That was when he knew he made a mistake. All of a sudden, Laurel threw herself into his arms, and cried. Real, heartbroken cries. Then I saw her father pick up the phone, and he saw it. Oliver. Chained to a wall, covered in bruises and blood. And he nearly collapsed. He let go of Laurel and grabbed him before he could hit the floor. As he got him to the couch, Laurel came back with a wet washcloth and began to stroke his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, I shouldn't have come," he mumbled out, almost smacking himself with stupidity.

"No, no you did the right thing—and we will find him, Tommy. If he is alive, we will find him," Laurel said, trying to convince herself, although she didn't know why. He broke her heart. He cheated on her. He deserved this. Then she took it back. That whole thought process. She decided. She was going to find him. No matter what.

The next day, everyone was lining up to get on a plane. Moira, Thea, Walter, Laurel, Tommy, and Quentin. And they were headed to Russia.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nobody's POV**

As they were landing in Russia, Tommy's phone started ringing. He was about to ignore it, but then he saw that the phone call originated in Moscow. He picked it up immediately and everybody listened in closely as Tommy put it on speaker.

"Mr. Merlyn," said the voice on the phone with a thick Australian accent.

"What do you want," he answered, keeping his voice as steady as possible.

"I want you to listen very carefully. Your friend here might not last much longer, because my idiot of an assistant directly disobeyed my direct order not to hurt him until he was kidnapped, and shot him in the process. Luckily, the bullet missed his heart, but I need a doctor, which means you. Or one of the other Americans that are with you on that plane. But your friend's life depends on it. So I am going to send you an address. You will get here as fast as you can. In the meantime, we are going to have some fun," he said, and even though they could barely comprehend what was happening, they got the message. Oliver was dying. Before they could hang up, however, they heard a blood-curdling scream come from the other end of the phone. Oliver's scream. Then a quick 'get here' before they cut the line off.

As everybody thought about what they just heard, they came to a realization. Oliver had been missing for 5 years. Presumed dead. And these guys were obviously some sort of mob. Bratva, maybe. What the hell was Oliver doing with them? Why did they want him? Money? But that didn't make sense. Then they were in the car. Nobody took notice of where they were or where they were going. All they could do at the moment was sit in silence and let their thoughts cloud their mind.

**Oliver's POV**

As I startled awake, the first thing I became aware of was the overwhelming crushing feeling in my chest. I could barely breathe. But I didn't dare open my eyes. I could feel my dislocated shoulder shifting in place as I hung from my wrists. Then I checked my surroundings. It had become habit. Mainly on the island. But then the Bratva heightened it. That constant feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach when you have an instinct that something isn't right. It was always there. I was always taking inventory of every room I walked into. How many men, women, who could handle themselves. Who was a possible threat. I wouldn't be able to bare it if I wasn't ready again. I couldn't lose anybody else because I was unprepared. But that's when I made the mistake of opening my eyes. I felt a presence next to me. When I glanced over, I saw him. Sitting in the corner of the room. And he had a phone in his hand. All of a sudden I heard a voice that I hadn't heard in a long time. Tommy's. The guard next to me punched me hard enough to leave me dazed and out of it enough that I didn't hear Slade's words. But then I saw Slade approaching and when he picked up the blowtorch and placed it on my abdomen, I screamed. I didn't think I had any energy left in me to scream, but I did. Then everything went black.

**Laurel's POV**

When we arrived at the location, I thought there had been some sort of mistake. This looked like an old warehouse. It was in the middle of nowhere. But then I felt a hand over my mouth and I smelled something odd. I tried to look around, and saw that Thea and Tommy had the same issue as me. I looked even further and saw Moira and Walter already being carried inside, along with my father, who was fighting with everything he had. Then as he dropped, the edges of my vision started to go, and before I knew it, I was on the ground and the world was disappearing from behind my eyes. The last thing I heard was my name being yelled by Thea.

**Nobody's POV**

The water came out of nowhere. Suddenly everyone was drenched. At least it wasn't cold. Then their eyes landed on him. Oliver. Strung up like an animal. He had a few cuts and scrapes, but the worst was the blood. His chest was bleeding badly, and then there was what looked like a burn. Right on his stomach. Before any of them could call his name, however, a man walked into their eyesight. And then he spoke.

"Who's the medic going to be?" he questioned with his accent.

"Me," Tommy answered immediately, and all eyes landed on him in surprise.

**Tommy's POV**

I was jolted awake to the sudden splash of water. There was a moment where I forgot where I was, then it all came rushing back. I remembered arriving at an abandoned warehouse, then it goes blank until now. When I looked forward, I saw Oliver. It took me by surprise at first, but when I remembered the phone call, I was surprised that he wasn't more injured. When the Australian guy asked who the medic would be, something came over me and all of a sudden I was volunteering.

"Get him out," the man ordered, and I was about to ask out of where, when I noticed I was in a cage. Like a fucking dog. And so was everyone else.

"Wake him up," was his next order. And instead of kindly pouring water, one of the took a cattle prod and jammed it into Oliver's side as I winced. He kept his eyes closed but I could hear him doing everything in his power to keep back a groan. The man noticed too.

"Wake up kid, we can't hang around forever," he said mockingly.

"Go fuck yourself, Slade. Stay the fuck away from me," Oliver spat out at the man now known as Slade.

"Oliver," I whispered as I found my voice.

When he turned to look at me, he looked like he saw a ghost.

"Tommy?" he asked, confused. Then it hit him. And he recoiled and starting yelling at Slade, cursing at every possibility he got.

"You son of a bitch! I'm going to kill you! You hear me! You let them go! They have nothing to do with this shit!" he pleaded.

"They have everything to do with this!" Slade yelled back, calming down slightly, but he wasn't finished.

"I made you a promise kid. Do you remember?" Slade said.

At this, I whipped my head around to face Oliver. And the look on his face made me take a step back. It was a look of pure and unrelenting anger. It was terrifying. I took another step back, just as Slade stepped forward.

"I told you that you would know how what true despair. That I wouldn't stop until you knew what that felt like," Slade said as he tauntingly got up into Oliver's face.

"That wasn't my fault! I had no choice! I was trying to save both of them!" Oliver continued to beg Slade to let us go. He got angrier.

"She was innocent! You let her die! I loved her! Now you are going to pay. But I can't let you die just yet. You haven't suffered yet. Which is why I am going to let Tommy here take care of your wounds," he explained. Then one of his men came back with a tray of medical supplies and they were handed to me.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, when it came to me. The bullet was still in him.

"Tommy. Tommy, look at me," I heard Oliver's voice through the thickness that had started to blanket my vision.

"Tommy, I'll walk you through it, okay. Just listen to my voice and do what I tell you and it will be okay," he said calmly. And I listened. He finished walking me through digging the bullet out, and was about to begin with stitches when I decided that I needed to know.

"What was he talking about? And how do you know how to do this? What happened to you?" I asked, and one glance at his face told me to let it go. But I didn't. I kept pushing.

"Seriously, I need to know," I pleaded with him, and it seemed to work, but I could tell the answer was to please me.

"I had to make tough choices when I was on that island Tommy. Some of them I regret. Some I don't. But there was only one way to survive. Kill or be killed," he explained, which didn't ease my nerves a bit, and if anything, made them worse.

"But what happened exactly?" I asked, needing more. He hesitated. But then he answered.

"Something happened. Slade got caught in an explosion. Me, Sara, and a girl named Shado ran, but we were caught. A man named Ivo gave me a choice. He would kill Sara or Shado, and I had to choose who lived. At the last second, I jumped in front of him so he would kill me instead. But he didn't," he finished with a sigh.

As he was talking, I could tell everyone behind me was surprised when he mentioned Sara's name, but then at the end, I could tell that Laurel was upset, and I was right, because then, through her sobs, she said, "What happened to my sister?! Ollie what happened!" she sobbed, but stopped as Oliver explained further.

"When I jumped in front of Ivo, I meant for him to shoot me. He didn't get that message, and decided to shoot Shado, since I jumped in front of Sara to shield her. Shado died, and Slade never got over it. Because he loved her," Oliver finished, and just as Laurel was about to speak again, Slade walked back in, and then unsheathed it. In one swift motion, he sliced across Oliver's abdomen with it. Oliver winced, but barely acknowledged the wound. Slade kept going, slicing Oliver here and there until he heard my desperate pleas for him to stop. When he did, he looked at Oliver, and before he left, he drove the sword straight through his left shoulder. At that, Oliver screamed. Then he passed out. The two guards shoved me back into my cell and left, leaving us to try and understand what just happened, praying that they would leave us alone for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oliver's POV**

When I heard the faint footsteps of Slade's boots approaching, my eyes flew open in panic, before I relaxed and collected my thoughts. He walked into the room and smirked at my glare before speaking.

"Good morning, kid. I didn't think you'd be awake yet," Slade laughed.

"Fuck you, Slade. Let them go," I snarled.

"No can do, kid. They're just as much of a part of this as you are. You made the wrong choice," he growled, on the verge of yelling.

Then I heard the broken voice from the back of the room that made my blood run cold at the words.

"So my sister deserved to die?" Laurel whispered from her cell.

My heart stopped as I saw the look on Slade's face. He was pissed. He rushed towards Laurel's cell before I screamed at him to stop.

"What are you going to do about it, kid. You're a little tied up at the moment," Slade mocked me with a smile.

"Just leave her alone, she doesn't deserve this, just let them go," I pleaded as Slade continued to laugh.

"I'll leave her alone for now, kid, but when I get back later, you will be punished for interrupting me," Slade said as he walked away.

When he was finally gone, I threw back my head in frustration and gave one last violent tug on my chains in a last resort attempt to free myself. I could handle this. I had done it before. I could do it again. But them. Thea, Laurel, Tommy, Mom, Walter? They weren't equipped for this. The only person that might pull through was Quentin, but his hatred for me might cloud his judgment. I was about to yell in frustration when Laurel spoke up, calming me almost instantly.

"Oliver?" She started. "Oliver, can you listen to me for just a second?"

"What is it, Laurel," I respond with the slightest hint of unintentional annoyance laced in my tone.

"You said that you saved Sara instead of your other friend. I wanted to thank you. It may not mean much, but you didn't deserve any of this either," she said softly. Her voice soothed me. It slowed my rapidly beating heart and cleared my brain just enough to let me think logically before thoughts of her and I and our old life clouded my brain again.

"Laurel, you shouldn't be here. Look, I'm sorry about Sara. I really am. But this? This is my fault. Slade went crazy on that island. It was a drug that me and Sara injected in him. His emotions are heightened. I need you to understand. Whatever happens, if you get a chance, run. Run as fast as you can and don't look back," I tell her as a plan begins to form in my mind.

"What are you talking about? Ollie? Do you have a plan to get out of here?" She asks, hopeful, before seeing my face and her face immediately falls.

"No. No, I'm not leaving you here, Ollie. None of us are. We just got you back, we're not letting you go again, not now," she exclaims, just as Slade re-enters the room.

"Oliver. Are you ready?" Slade asks in excitement.

"Leave him alone!" Thea yells with a sudden surge of confidence.

As Slade turns around, I tell him to ignore her and get on with it. He doesn't take that too well. There goes four of my ribs. My jaw. And my knee. Completely shattered. I guess that confirms it. I won't be getting out of here without help.

"Just for old times sake, I'm going to recreate the first little experience we had together with pain. Do you remember, kid? Those burns must still be on your chest," he says as he traces lightly over my burn scars from the first time he tortured me.

"Fuck you. Do whatever you want to me, just don't touch them," I say as I spit blood in his face. I feel the cold metal touching my skin before I register the electricity surging through my body. Soon everything goes blurry.

**Thea's POV**

When Slade walked back in with a big cart full of knives and other weapons I didn't even want to try and recognize, I knew what was happening. I watched the short exchange between Oliver and this so called Slade. I glanced over at my mother and as I saw the look of horror on her face, I was opening my mouth before I could stop myself. He turned and made his way towards me before Oliver had said something so quietly I had to strain to hear him. I realized that I had backed into the corner of my cell. I watched as Slade punched Oliver once, twice, three times, four, until he landed a foot to Oliver's left knee, which made a sickening crunching sound, yet all I heard from Oliver was a small cry followed by a grunt. I looked up at Ollie, who didn't seem to notice the pain, but instead was glaring at Slade with such intensity that his expression scared me. Then he started convulsing with the electricity. Then his head dropped and I screamed his name, which was when Slade stormed over to my cell and pulled me out roughly, much to the protests of my mother, who was trying desperately to reach me, and deposited me right next to Oliver's limp body. I was about to jump up and help him, until I took a good look at him for the first time. There were scars all over his body, and his hair was a little longer, and I actually had to remind myself that this was my brother. The one that I hadn't seen in five years, to be exact. So I swallowed down my fear and rose to cradle his face in my hand. He flinched slightly, before stilling once again, and my heart broke.

"Oliver? Ollie, please wake up," I pleaded with him, hearing Laurel's similar pleas from behind me.

As his eyes fluttered slightly open, he whispered my name, barely audible, and I sighed in relief. I thought he was dead. I turned around and noticed my mother running towards the both of us. She wrapped her arms around Oliver and held on tight, until she noticed the small grimace on his face, likely from broken ribs.

"Mom?" He asked softly.

"Oh, sweetheart. What happened to you?" She asked with concern etched on her face.

He looked up for a second and he looked away just as quick in an attempt to hide his emotions, but I saw them flash across his eyes. Pain, anger, hatred, worry, and the one that scared me the most. Fear.

I remember the Oliver from when I was 12 years old. All he did was drink, get stoned, and sleep with a different girl every night. But ever since Slade took us, all I saw in Oliver was strength. I almost saw him as invincible. He didn't seem scared. Worried, sure, but only for the rest of us. Not himself. Before, he didn't care what he did as long as it benefitted him. He hurt Laurel god knows how many times, and then it finally reached a peak. But now. I saw him as selfless. The first thing he did was beg Slade to let us go. Then he was tortured and the only thing I could see was anger in his eyes. Then when he went limp, I genuinely thought he died. I thought it was over. Then I came over and saw he was okay. But Oliver's strength was what was keeping me sane in here. It had only been a couple of days, but he still inspired me and gave me enough strength to keep my faith. But then I saw that fear in his eyes and I knew. He didn't expect to get out of here. But I also saw determination. And I could keep going on that. Because if he was getting me out of here, I would drag him along with me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Quentin's POV**

I was trying to stay quiet. I really was trying. But after watching this Slade guy torture Oliver for the fun of it, it took everything in me not to speak up. I always blamed Oliver. I thought he deserved what he got. That was when he was dead, however. I did listen to his conversation with Tommy. At first, I thought he was lying, trying to get into our heads, paint himself as a hero. That's what he used to do. But I forced myself to look at him. He was shirtless, I saw his scars. He was covered in them. And again, I thought I wouldn't care. But whatever gave him those scars wasn't human. How could someone do that to another person? But it did give me a sense of clarity, in a way. Hearing Oliver talk about Sara, how he saved her. I didn't think I would ever forgive him, but in that moment, I noticed the most important thing. Sara wasn't here. Oliver was. If they were together there, that means Oliver didn't just stop her death. He stopped her capture. And I couldn't bring myself to hate him anymore. I suddenly was forgiving him just as fast as I had vowed to end his life should I ever see him again. That was when Slade took Thea from her cell. Moira was begging him not to hurt her, and I almost joined in when I saw Oliver hanging limp from his chains, and I remembered looking away when the electricity jerked his body around. I instead looked at Laurel, who had been trying to get away from the sound of Oliver's cries of pain. Thea was shaking him, trying to get him to wake up. And he didn't. My heart dropped. Then he flinched away from her touch, taking in a big gasp of air, and my heart started beating again. That was when I spoke.

"Hey. Hey, tough guy. You take pleasure in hurting innocent people?" I forced out of my throat, which closed up again when he headed towards me.

"You think he is innocent? You have no idea what he's done," Slade says. Oliver's head lifted slightly, before he dropped it back against his chest, all his energy gone. I heard Laurel cry out for Oliver, who had passed out again. Slade wasn't too happy about that, and he threw a bucket of ice water on him.

"It isn't time to sleep yet, kid. You haven't received your punishment today yet," Slade said eagerly. "Take him down."

The guards took Oliver off the hook, and he let out grunt at the movement of his obviously dislocated shoulder. They then unchained his arms only to chain them again, this time behind his back.

Slade grabbed his head and forced it into the other bucket on the ground, holding him down for nearly a minute, only pulling out when Oliver's struggles stopped entirely.

"You know, Oliver, I remember during your training, you could hold your breath for a long time. I never understood how, but I didn't care enough to really test it. I guess there's no time like the present," he said with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders.

Oliver was plunged into the water again, this time I didn't bother to count the time. Slade was doing it out loud. He reached 3 minutes before he pulled Oliver out, and when he recovered, he shot Slade an angry glare, which earned him another dunk. It wasn't a long one, maybe thirty seconds, but it didn't stop Thea and Moira from struggling helplessly in the arms of the guards.

"I thought you would have learned by now, Oliver. Lashing out won't end well for you. Or for them," he whispered the last part into his ear, and although I couldn't make out the words, I knew they were bad, because Oliver's eyes grew wide and he started struggling once again.

I thought it would never end. Slade began dragging Oliver back towards the bucket and dunked his head again. He kept him there for what felt like hours. He finally pulled him out. Except Oliver wasn't gasping for air. He was completely unconscious. Slade just laughed and checked his pulse.

"Oh, kid. You can't fool me. Get him in his cell. Leave him there. Get the others food and some water. Can't have them starving. Just… don't let them share," Slade said before leaving the room, laughing.

I just stared at Oliver in horror as he was dragged into the empty cell in the corner, where they wrapped duct tape around his head one too many times before leaving and coming back with food and water, per Slade's request. By that time I had recovered slightly. I tried talking to him.

"Oliver?" I ask.

He turns his head to me weakly, probably surprised that I was even attempting a conversation.

"Thank you. For saving Sara. I just wanted you to know that I don't blame you. Don't get me wrong, I did. I hated you. But, after… that. I just wanted to thank you," I say, realizing that I was babbling.

He stops for a moment, seemingly thinking. Then he nods his head in response, the duct tape interfering. I look over at Laurel and see her give me a weak smile and she mouths a thank you before turning over and attempting sleep, along with everybody else. I don't. I stay awake, processing. I think about Sara, how she is, what she's doing. If she's okay. Those were the last thoughts to enter my mind before I drift off.

**Walter's POV**

I never knew Oliver. Not really. I mean, I met him a few times when Robert had me over. But he was always with a different girl, and more often than not, drunk or high. But what I just witnessed was inhumane. Oliver, the city's bad boy. I never would have ever imagined Oliver to grow into the type of man who can be held under water for five minutes straight and not drown. Then again, Oliver always was a good swimmer. Moira told me she used to force him into swim lessons. That always made me laugh, mainly because the thought of Oliver in a speedo was hilarious. But now, I certainly wasn't laughing. Oliver was juts brutally tortured with electricity and water, probably the worst combination ever. Not to mention the fact that Slade just reentered the room with a big smile on his face. _Fuck._

"Well, hey there, kid," Slade announced, waking everybody in the room.

Oliver started, shuffling to the back of his cell as fast as he could with his hands chained behind his back.

Slade went in and hung him from the ceiling again, this time tilting Oliver's head back and tossing a dirty rag on top of it. Oliver immediately jerked his head around, trying to get the rag off, but Slade held his head in place. He motioned to a guard, who picked up the bucket, while the other guard grabbed a taser.

While one poured the water, the other jabbed the taser into Oliver's side, eliciting a muffled scream of pain from Oliver, beginning a chain, starting with Thea screaming, followed by Laurel, then Tommy, and to my surprise, Quentin. Moira sat there sobbing, and I reached through my cell to wrap my arms around her.

I looked away, unable to stand the sight any longer, except Oliver's pain-filled screams would haunt me forever. I tried to get away, so did Moira, but they were everywhere. Moira cried harder, and I held her tighter, but the torture continued.

Oliver's struggles were beginning to get weaker with each second, and soon, he fell limp. Slade took the rag away and punched him in the face, forcing him awake again. The silence was comforting. Then he repeated the process, and the screams returned.

This time I made myself look. I felt guilty. I don't know why exactly, but the idea of me retreating and hiding from it while Oliver was actually living it didn't seem fair to me. So I watched in horror, and soon I joined the chorus of screams and cries and begs to stop.

Finally, Slade let him go, and just smiled at us and waved as he left the room. Everybody watched as the guards let Oliver down, chained his arms behind his back, and threw him back into the cell, causing Oliver to let out a string of muffled curses from behind the duct tape, words I would never repeat in my lifetime. I held Moira as she continued to cry, and watched as everyone fell asleep from exhaustion. Soon I joined them and let the blackness cloud my vision to forget what I just saw and heard.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tommy's POV**

I was starting to worry. Slade left hours ago, maybe even days. Who knows down here. Oliver was still in his cell, and was not looking too good. He still had the duct tape wrapped around his head, along with the chains holding his hands behind his back, but now they had added a set of chains around his ankles, ever since he tried to escape a couple of hours ago.

The thing that worried me the most, however, was Oliver's breathing. Every time he took a breath in, it was raspy and hoarse and it sounded horrible. But he didn't seem to worry whatsoever. He was laying there, hopefully asleep, and couldn't care less.

I reached out to try and touch him, considering my cell was right next to his, but couldn't reach him, so I called out his name.

"Oliver. Oliver!" I tried in a hushed voice.

He weakly turned his head to me and fell onto his back, earning a grimace on his face from the pain, before giving me a look that told me to drop it, to let it go and forget every thought that may have entered my head. But then the guards walked in before I could respond and tell him that I couldn't.

The guards walked straight to Oliver's cell and unlocked it, grabbing Oliver, who didn't even try to put up a fight. They laid him down on a table, strapping him down, when a guy in a doctor's coat walked in carrying a briefcase. He checked Oliver out, wincing at the sounds his breathing was making.

Suddenly, the monitors Oliver was hooked up to started beeping like crazy and my heart nearly stopped beating as well before picking up and beating much too fast. The doctor grabbed paddles and placed them on his chest, shocking him. Oliver's chest jerked upwards and fell back down. The doctor then started compressions. It didn't seem to be working until the monitors calmed down. They went back to normal, and when the doctor moved, I could see Oliver laying there with a tube down his throat and bandages wrapped heavily around his chest.

Slade walked back in and saw the sight, clapping his hands.

"Tremendous work, Dr. Lenkov," Slade said, before ordering the tube out and Oliver back in the cell.

"But, Mr. Wilson, this tube is helping him breathe. He could die without it," Dr. Lenkov said, trying to help Oliver.

"Oh, don't worry, doctor, I won't need him too much longer," Slade said with a smirk. He raised a gun and pointed it at the doctor, who quickly obliged.

Oliver was thrown back into the cell and I reached out again, trying to help, but I couldn't reach him. He let out a groan of pain and turned over towards me.

"Oliver?" I whispered.

"Tommy?" He rasped out. I winced again at the sound of his breathing.

"Yeah, buddy, it's me. How you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm fine. M' chest hurts," he said, starting to slur his words a bit.

"Yeah, you'll be okay. I need you to stay awake for me, okay?" I say, seeing that he's starting to drift off to sleep again.

"Okay," he whispered before falling asleep.

"Oliver. Oliver? Damn it," I mutter.

I decided to wait, and I was about to let myself fall asleep as well, when I heard a whisper come from Oliver. I leaned in closer and I heard him whisper 'no.' Over and over again. Almost like a mantra. Then he jolted awake, yelling 'No! Anatoly!' He starting taking deep breaths, then calmed himself down, and he finally remembered he wasn't alone when Laurel asked him what had happened and Thea asked who Anatoly was all at the same time.

He turned around slowly and we all saw the look of pain etched onto his face at the action.

"I'm sorry, it was just a nightmare, try and get some sleep," Oliver rasped.

Almost everyone did, if not hesitating slightly, before he noticed that I just sat there staring at him. He gave me a look that told me to listen, but I refused. I sat there and waited for him to acknowledge me.

"What is it, Tommy," he finally said, resigning.

"Oliver," I began, not knowing how to start.

"What do you want to know?" Oliver said, basically reading my mind. Then he darted his eyes over to a spot on the other side of the room and my eyes followed, seeing Laurel watching him. He gave her a smile that didn't come close to reaching his eyes before he turned back to me, Laurel listening intently.

"What happened that night? You know, when the yacht went down?" I asked, not wanting to cross any boundaries. His expression remained neutral.

"There was a storm. I remember Sara saying that the lightning was getting closer, and I said she was just paranoid. Then there was a huge flash and the boat was tipping. Me and Sara fell into the water, and when I came up, she was gone. I couldn't find her. My dad pulled me onto a life raft and got us out of there. I thought Sara was dead," he began, stopping when Laurel started crying. "It was a day, maybe two, before my dad realized that there wasn't enough food and water for all of us. He wasn't making any sense, he said that I had to right his wrongs and some other shit. I told him to rest. To sleep. Then there was a gunshot. It startled me, I jerked awake, and saw my father holding a gun. He had shot the crew member. He told me that he loved me, that I had to right his wrongs, and then he shot himself in the head."

At the end, I heard Moira and Thea both let out sobs and start crying. I was in shock. Robert? Killed himself? It just didn't seem right. But one look at Oliver's face told me that he wasn't joking and that the one person I could ever call a father was really dead.

Then Slade walked back in, smirking. "You never told me that, kid."

"Why the hell would he tell you, you sick son of a bitch!" I yelled, not registering what just came out of my mouth. I looked at Oliver and he had a look of, not horror, exactly, but just fear for me. Slade slowly turned to me and smiled, taking me out of the cell.

"String him up," he ordered to the guards.

Once I was in the same position as Oliver, Slade took a metal pipe and hit me in the ribs. I screamed, feeling a rib break. I faintly heard Oliver yelling, before he let out a few grunts, and I realized that the pipe wasn't hitting me anymore, but Oliver. I looked over and he gave me an apologetic look, and Slade kept hitting him. I realized that he was counting. Not minutes, or seconds. Ribs. He reached 16 before stopping. Oliver's head dropped to his chest as he blacked out. Slade came towards me and hit me over the head, and soon blackness enveloped me as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Oliver's POV

The second I woke up, I jerked with a gasp, feeling the effect of my broken ribs. I glanced over at Tommy, who was still unconscious. Then Slade walked in and punched me in the chest, knowing how much it would hurt. Then he walked over to Tommy and threw a bucket of water on him, causing him to wake with a grunt. Then he walked out with a slight grin, and although I would never admit it, it scared me.

It had been hours since Slade left the room, and I was starting to get anxious. He never left us alone this long. At least I think. I've been unconscious quite a bit. I knew this couldn't go on. I had to get them out of here at the very least. I knew I wasn't going to make it out of this. Two of ribs at least were already pressing against my lung, constricting my breathing, causing me to let out a wheeze every time I took in a breath, and my mom and Thea kept giving me increasingly concerned looks. But I didn't care about that, I had been through worse. So I brought my legs up and climbed the chain until it broke off, landing me on my back.

I did my best not to scream, knowing that Slade would be in here in seconds if I did. Then we'd be done. Everybody in the room looked at me in surprise. The guards rushed at me and I easily took them down, two at a time. Soon all 12 of them lay in a heap on the ground.

I walked over to Tommy and got him down, and he was staring at me in shock. I gave him a look that said I'll explain later and he reluctantly nodded, going to help Walter and Moira out while I went to Laurel.

"How did you do that?" she whispered to me.

"Long story," I say just as she launches herself into my arms the second I open her cage. I hug her back a second later, but I pull away quickly, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"I motioned for them to follow me and I slowly made my way towards the door on the opposite side of the room. I squinted as I opened it and realized that it led straight outside.

But we were three stories up. I noticed a rope laying on the ground a few yards away from the building and decided that I could throw it up to them. I climbed down the building, leaving everyone shocked once again. Once I got the rope up to Lance, he helped everyone climb down it, him being last.

With us all on the ground, I told them to make a run for it, and I would be right behind them. They all took off, Laurel staying in back with me, when gunshots hit the dirt all around us. I yelled at them to get down as I began to internally panic. I got Laurel behind me and handed her off to Lance.

More guards were chasing us out of the building and I yelled to run, as I went and began fighting them off. To my surprise, Lance stayed and fought with me. In about 10 minutes the 15 other guards in the building were incapacitated. I didn't notice Slade behind me until I felt the taser hit my bare skin. I grunted, going to my knees, and I heard Lance yell just as Slade wrapped his arm around my neck.

"Going somewhere, kid?" He growled in my ear. The edges of my vision were going gray, and I faintly heard Thea's pleas before the world went black.

Laurel's POV

I watched with surprise as Oliver took out at least ten guards all by himself. Then he rushed over to my cage as Tommy went to help the others. His answer to my question was extremely vague, but I put it aside for now, considering it wasn't the best time.

Then he managed to shock me all over again by climbing down the building using the window sills and anything he could get a grip on. My relief of running away from that warehouse went away as quickly as it came when the gunfire started. I hadn't been okay with Oliver running towards it, but my dad had me running after them and yelling that we should just go.

They didn't. Luckily, the two of them made a great team taking down all the guards, but a grunt from Oliver stopped my heart when I saw Slade's arm around Oliver's neck.

When Ollie lost consciousness, he pointed a gun at his head and told us to follow if we wanted him to live. So we did.

It took a while to get us all situated in our cages again, but by the time we were, Oliver woke with a groan, leading Slade to slap him in the face and grin like a mad man. Before he left he told us that we would pay for our little escape attempt. I was terrified, and a quick look around the room told me everyone else felt the same way. Except Oliver, who had no trace of any emotion on his face.

Oliver's POV

Slade wasn't gone as long as I thought he would be. It took him maybe 10 minutes to return with a cart. The items on the cart sent me back to the Amazo. Except this time it wasn't just a taser. This time there were knives, blowtorches, pliers, and various other devices that made my stomach turn.

He started with the blowtorch. Just picked it up and it went straight to my abdomen. I screamed. I didn't mean to, really, but it was so unexpected. I could hear my mom's cries blend with Thea's and Laurel's, and I could just make out the threats that Lance spat out. Tommy was begging him to let me go. The only one I couldn't hear was Walter. One glance told me he was there, but obviously trying to block out my screams.

Then it went to my forearm. I screamed again, but it soon turned to groans as he stepped back and smiled.

"You really shouldn't have done that, Oliver. You just made things so much worse for yourself," Slade laughed, going to pull Lance out of his cell.

"However, Mr. Lance here also had a hand in that pathetic attempt, which means he will receive a punishment as well."

Slade walked back over to the cart and picked up a cattle prod and jammed it into my side. I grunted but Slade pulled it away from me and jammed it into Lance's side just as quickly before going back to me.

At this point Thea, Tommy and Laurel were all screaming for him to stop, and he continued going back and forth until Lance passed out. He let him down and got him back to his cell.

"Well, Oliver, I guess you're the only one left standing," Slade said, grinning way too eagerly.

He slowly walked behind me with a whip in his hand. I knew what was coming so I closed my eyes and waited for the sharp snap of the first hit. When it finally came I felt it cut into my back and I let out a small groan as he continued.

I stopped counting how many times the whip hit my back after 30. But he kept going. Eventually he stopped and walked around in front of me as my vision started going out.

"50 strokes. Impressive, kid," he smiled before I let the darkness cloud my vision and take me.


	7. Chapter 7

**LANCE'S POV**

The first thing I heard when I regained consciousness was pained grunts. As my vision cleared, I looked up to see Slade holding a bloody whip and Oliver still hanging from his wrists, his back dripping with blood.

I looked around and noticed Laurel sobbing and pleading with Slade, Thea just sobbing, unable to get any words out, and Tommy screaming words that I would never repeat in my lifetime.

Then the horrible snapping of the whip stopped. I returned my eyes to Oliver, who looked like he was about to pass out. Then Slade walked around to the front of Oliver, and said '50 strokes' and I stumbled back a bit. em50 /emstrokes?

As I was wondering to myself how he was still breathing, his head dropped to his chest and his chest stopped moving.

Slade came and took Laurel first. I found myself repeating the words Tommy had just been screaming a few seconds earlier. Next was Tommy. Then Thea. Moira. Walter. Lastly he unlocked my cell. He tied me to a chair identical to everyone else's. He had us in a circle now, Oliver hanging from his wrists, everybody else taped to chairs.

Slade jammed a taser into Oliver's side to wake him up, and as he jerked awake with a gasp, his eyes fluttered and his head dropped back to his chest as he wheezed. He was losing way too much blood way too fast.

"Kid. You have to stay awake for this. It's important," Slade said, rearing back and driving his fist into Oliver's chest. "Understand?"

Oliver weakly nodded his head. I could see blood dripping down his mouth from the trauma to his back and chest, and I really began to worry. I could tell he was fading, and fast.

"Hey. Slade, is it? Look, he needs help, okay? I mean, look at him, he needs a doctor. And I'm guessing you need him alive for now, so it's in your best interest, right?" I try reasoning with the guy, but all I get in response is an unbelievably hard left hook to the jaw.

"Shut up," he finally says after staring me down.

He walks back over to Oliver and slaps his face a couple of times, trying to keep his eyes open.

"Oliver, you're gonna want to stay awake for this. Come on, keep your eyes open," Slade says, continuing to lightly slap his face.

Then he's cursing and two fingers go to his neck.

"Fuck! Get the doctor in here right the hell now!" Slade yells, and the doctor comes running in.

"What the hell happened?" The doctor, Lenkov, says.

"I don't know, but I can't find a pulse," Slade tells him.

"Damn it. Get him down and start CPR. I need to stop some of this bleeding," Dr. Lenkov says urgently as Slade begins lowering Oliver to the ground, his metal shackles still around his wrists.

As Slade began CPR, my heart nearly stopped beating as well. I looked at Oliver's limp body and couldn't help but feel angry with myself. I spent so much time hating him for what happened to Sara that I didn't even stop to wonder what could have happened to him.

I let my eyes wander back to his scarred chest, then to his pale and bloody face, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I finally let the tears fall. And I wasn't the only one. Everyone in the room had tears running down their faces, sobbing for Oliver to fight and come back.

Then I noticed Slade, still on top of Oliver, pounding on his chest, and I noticed the tear tracks on his face as well. And his mouth was mumbling words that shocked me. He was pleading with him. Begging him to wake up. To fight it and not give up, not like this.

I was extremely confused, and I was about to yell at him for doing this to Oliver, to scream until my throat was hoarse that he did this to him, but then Oliver was sitting up, gasping for much needed air, and I felt like I could breathe again.

Slade sat back and started shaking. Oliver looked up at him and grabbed his wrist.

"Slade? You okay?" He asked with compassion. I was even more confused than ever.

"Yeah. Uh, yeah, I'm okay," he mumbled, and his eyes scanned Oliver's body again. "Kid, I—"

"It's alright. It's okay, Slade. Help me up," Oliver said, and took Slade's shaky, outstretched hand.

"Thank you," Slade finally said, looking Oliver in the eye. "I just couldn't do it myself. Couldn't bring myself to. I was too ashamed to go back."

Oliver nodded. "I know, and it's okay. I've got you."

Then another man walked into the room and Oliver looked like he was seeing a ghost. He froze, they both did, as the man approached them.

"Oliver Queen. It's a pleasure to see you again," the man said.

"No, that's… that's not possible. Slade, how the hell—" Oliver began.

"Shit. I totally forgot. Oliver, I wasn't myself, you know that," Slade said.

"Slade! How the hell is he standing there?!" Oliver yelled. Everyone flinched.

"I forgot I was working with him. It's all fuzzy. I can't explain it. It's like a fog covering my memories of the Mirakuru. But he's clearly alive. So, I guess, it's kind of, self-explanatory?" Slade explained.

"Fuck. This is fucking great," Oliver muttered before rushing at the man, tackling him to the ground.

The man brought up and elbow and hit Oliver right in the nose, which started gushing blood. Oliver ducked another punch and kicked the man in the back.

Then another man appeared in the doorway, wearing a mask that was half-black and half-white. Oliver turned around slowly. His face got even whiter.

"Oliver Queen," the new man muttered before charging Oliver.

As Slade broke out into a fight with the first man, Oliver and the masked man got into another fight. Unfortunately, Slade got knifed by the first guy, and Oliver was too injured to fight for long, even if he put up a good fight. They were both on the ground within minutes.

Soon they were both hung from their wrists, Slade right next to Oliver. When the two men left, Oliver was bombarded with questions from everyone in the room, the main one being, 'what the hell just happened?'

"Everybody stop!" Oliver yelled over them. "Look, just stop."

He exchanged a glance with Slade before continuing.

"Like I told you guys before, me and Sara injected Slade with a serum to save his life. It was called Mirakuru. Basically, it enhances everything. Strength, speed, your senses. Also your feelings, such as anger. Slade was consumed by anger over Shado's death. Since Ivo was dead, the guy who killed her, he came after me, because I was the one who jumped in front of Sara," he began, looking around the room before continuing.

"I knew there was a cure. It just wasn't on the island with us, so we had no way of curing Slade. Eventually, he broke and came after me. When we tried escaping, I had the intention of leaving, not looking back. But then I found vials of the cure outside the warehouse and I grabbed one, just in case. So right before Slade… choked me out, I injected the cure into him, hoping it would kick in soon. Not soon enough to avoid a whipping, but it kicked in," Oliver finished, gauging everyone's reactions.

"Wait, so. You cured him?" Walter asked.

"Yes. I cured him," Oliver answered.

"But then who were those two guys that just fought you two?" Thea asked.

Oliver hesitated. He hesitated way too long. Then he exchanged another look with Slade, who just looked back down.

"Oliver?" I pushed.

"Their names are Edward Fyers and Billy Wintergreen," he said, as a way of explanation.

"Okay, but who are they?" Tommy asked again. Another look passes between Oliver and Slade.

"Fyers was the first person to torture me on the island. He caught me after I ran away from a cave I was taking refuge in, I guess. He asked me about a guy on the island, and that guy just happened to be the guy I was bunking with, so to say. He saved me, so I refused to give him up. Fyers had Billy cut into my abdomen with a knife," he said, gesturing to his chest by nodding his head.

"Oh, Oliver," Moira cried. Oliver gave her a wry smile before continuing.

"Yao Fei, the guy I protected, saved me and got me out, but he got captured later on, and when I went looking, I found out he had joined Fyers, who took his daughter hostage. His daughter was Shado," Oliver said, letting it sink. He was quiet for a moment.

"Yao Fei gave Oliver directions on a map of the island to my plane. It crashed, so I was hiding out in it. It took a while, but the kid proved his worth, so I trained him. Long story short, we were able to take over Fyers camp, and we were planning to go home on one of Fyer's supply planes, but Oliver went back for Yao Fei, and when he didn't return soon, I went after him. I ended up stabbing Billy in the eye with a knife. We thought he was dead. Fyers too. He had grabbed Shado, who actually had been with us for a while, another long story. But Shado had taught Oliver how to shoot a bow and arrow. So Oliver grabbed a bow and shot Fyers in the chest. We thought he was dead too. I honestly don't remember getting together with either of them," Slade finished for Oliver. At the end, everybody in the room looked shocked.

Fyers walked back into the room, clapping.

"Wow, great story, boys. But now it's time to get onto more fun subjects. Like torture, for example. So Oliver, how do you feel about going back in time a little to when Billy first tortured you, huh? Yeah, let's do it," Fyers said, and Oliver stiffened slightly.

Then Billy stepped forward and grabbed a knife off the cart and in one motion, drove it through Oliver's sternum, eliciting a cry of pain from Oliver.

Everybody started yelling once again as blood starting pouring down Oliver's bare chest.

Then his eyes fluttered closed, his wheezing stopped, and Slade was yelling his name.

Oliver had stopped breathing again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Slade's POV**

When Oliver's head dropped back to his chest, I panicked again. Billy ran over and let us both down, and he had me perform CPR.

The doctor ran back in and set up his supplies, ramming another tube down Oliver's throat, while also placing pads on his chest.

He yelled 'Clear!' and I backed off, wincing as Oliver's body jerked from the shocks.

I continued compressions, and within minutes, the doctor had barely stabilized him enough to move him to the table in the corner.

"I've gotten him stabilized again, but this time, he really needs the tube to breathe. Last time, he got lucky when I took it out, but if I take it out again, he won't make it, I promise," Dr. Lenkov said, turning to me.

I simply look away as I'm pulled away roughly and hung by my wrists again. The doctor looks between me and Fyers in shock, wondering when Fyers took over.

"Fine then. I guess we'll have to proceed without Mr. Queen at the moment. Until he's well enough to rejoin us, that is," Fyers says, and motions for Billy to grab his tools.

I tense up as he approaches me with his sword.

"Billy, please. You can't do this. This isn't right. What about Joe? Think about Joe," I plead with him, bringing up my son in the hopes that he would give up.

"You stabbed me in the eye, Slade. Joe means nothing to me anymore," Billy growls.

Then he places his sword on my chest and starts cutting. At first, I can feel the aftereffects of the Mirakuru still trying to heal me, but then it fades, when the pain takes over, and I start screaming.

Everybody in the room is shocked, I can tell, but I don't have the energy to care. I take it, knowing that if I didn't, Oliver would be taken off the ventilator and forced to endure this instead of me, and I know I can't let that happen.

It goes on for hours, it feels like, and when Fyers finally orders Billy to stop, my entire chest and abdomen is covered in blood.

They leave the room without saying a word, and my head drops to my chest, no longer able to keep up the tough act.

"Um, Slade, right?" I hear a female voice speak up.

I look up and realize it came from Laurel, and I can barely keep my head up long enough to answer.

"Yeah," I whisper.

"You knew Sara? Oliver said you guys were all together at some point," Laurel asks nervously.

I hesitate, but still answer. "Yeah, I, uh, I knew your sister."

"What happened?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't really remember. Like Oliver said, they were the ones to inject me with the Mirakuru. After that, everything is fuzzy. I think I remember the last fight I had with Oliver and Sara before we left the island, but I don't remember what happened with Sara, only that Oliver stabbed me in the eye with an arrow. He thought it would kill me, but it didn't. I honestly thought Sara was dead. But then, I came back for Oliver, to get revenge, for Shado, and I found them in Russia," I mumble out, hard to gather up enough energy to speak.

"Them?" Quentin spoke up.

"Sara was with Oliver in Russia. When I finally went after them, I guess they saw me coming, because by the time I got to the hotel, they were ready for me. We fought for a while, and soon, my men came to back me up, and before I knew it, Oliver had led us away from Sara and I knew it was to protect her. But my main priority was Oliver, so I didn't go after her. She easily took out my guys and ran. I think she thought she would be able to find Oliver herself, but I was way too well hidden. It will be a while, if she even manages to find us," I say, my eyes slipping closed near the end.

I can feel the effects of the blood loss now and I hear more voices talking, but they are sluggish and muffled.

Just before I give myself to the blackness, I can feel gauze being pressed onto my many wounds, trying to stem the blood flow.

**Lance's POV**

My suspicions were just confirmed. Oliver had gotten himself captured to save his baby girl. I glanced over to where he was laying, with a tube down his throat, and winced.

Then I saw Slade being let down and I noticed he was unconscious. The doctor was back and gauze was being placed just about everywhere.

I noticed he was mumbling something, and I had to strain to hear him, but I could make out the words.

"Please stop. He doesn't know anything, stop please. Oliver, fight it. You can fight this. Please stop hurting him," Slade mumbles.

I look down in shock. Who else was on that island? He didn't mention ever getting tortured with Oliver.

Luckily, the doctor stopped the bleeding and Slade was strung up again. He didn't wake up, just struggled slightly.

It didn't do any good, and the men left, our hopes of escaping dramatically decreasing with every minute Oliver and Slade stayed unconscious.


End file.
